On the 1st of March 2005 the "Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units" (CoESPU) was established by the Carabinieri at the "Gen. A. Chinotto" barracks, in Vicenza, Italy. CoESPU stems from an Italian initiative, supported by other G8 countries. It was initiated at the 2004 Sea Island, as part of a wider project of the International Community to provide technical and financial assistance in order to increase global capacity for sustaining peace support operations, with an emphasis on African countries. CoESPU is currently commanded by Brigadier General Paolo Nardone.
The persistence of conflict in many developing countries, a phenomenon that has been particularly endemic to parts of Africa, raises questions about how to maintain peace and stability in order to foster social development and economic growth for the future.
Many initiatives have been planned to spur development, encourage good governance, promote regional partnerships and create political relationships with developed and democratic countries. World leaders have recognized that we are facing a critical need for greater capacity to maintain stability in countries emerging from crisis.
Bearing this in mind, leaders of the G-8 countries, beginning at the 2002 Kananaskis Summit, made a pledge to, "Provide technical and financial assistance so that African countries and regional and sub-regional organizations are able to engage more effectively to prevent and resolve violent conflicts on the continent."
During the 2004 Sea Island Summit, G-8 leaders formally adopted the, "G-8 Action Plan: Expanding Global Capability in Peace Support Operations", showing a commitment by the G-8 nations to increase global capacity for sustaining peace support operations with an emphasis on African countries. Following this G-8 Action Plan CoESPU developed a training curriculum that was taught to 3500 international peacekeepers by December 2010.
CoESPU's training efforts have targeted gendarme-type peacekeepers, specialized in managing the transition from a post-crisis situation to a more stable context for reconstruction.
CoESPU's next development project will be to increase peacekeeping skills in those countries whose forces could be available for deployment in Peace Support Operations (PSO). This project will require fostering the creation of Carabinieri/Gendarmerie like forces prepared for rapid deployment, self-sustained logistics, interoperability with military components, and the capability to establish a strong police presence in hostile neighbourhoods.